Assignment Task:
Cultural trappings and victimization can be linked. Violence and resulting victim- ization is a product of structural arrangements in our culture conducive to violence (Galtung, 1996). Culture consists of a totality of values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, race and gender relations, child-rearing practices, governance, and other practices of a society. Social relations, the media, the entertainment industry, and other forms of commercial enterprise influence the culture. When cultural messages are flawed, however, violence and victimization are possible outcomes. When a culture allows the dehumanization of certain people or groups, as in violent video games or R-rated films, violence may be the result. A pathetic or weak cultural base can lead to structural violence, or the acting out of an individual or group incorporated into formal legal and economic exchanges. Inother words, those who are poor or disenfranchised may turn to violence against prop- erty as a means to an end or to produce a feeling of recognition. Many of the inner- city racial riots of the 1960s and 1970s were the result of expressive disillusionment with systemic inequality. The malicious burning and looting were the result of perceived inequality by many. Need Assignment Help?